Mac OS X Support -- Norton AntiVirus

The University's site-license allows all NCSU students, faculty and staff to download and install Norton AntiVirus for use on their campus and home computers. Download requires a valid Unity name and password. If your office computer was set up by the College's computing staff, then Norton AntiVirus is already installed.

Installing Norton AntiVirus will require an account with administrative rights. Between the install and the initial update, you will be asked to enter the account name and password several times.

If you have other antivirus software (Virex, Sophos, Virus Barrier, etc) already installed on your computer, you will need to uninstall it before installing NAV. If you are running NAV 9, you can install NAV 10 right over top of it. If you are running NAV 8, you will need to uninstall it before you can install NAV 10. Use the NortonUninstall.command utility, available for download, to uninstall NAV 8. If you're not certain what version of NAV you're running, launch NAV. Then go to the Norton AntiVirus menu and select About.
Run the NAV Installer. After the installation is done, you will be asked to log out.
Upon logging back in, go to the Norton QuickMenu, select Live Update, and then Update everything now to bring all its components up-to-date.

Launch Norton AntiVirus from the Norton QuickMenu or from the Symantec Solutions folder in your Applications folder (or from the Control Panels in OS 8/9). At the bottom of the NAV window you will find the Virus Definitions Date. Unlike NAV for Windows which can have weekly or even daily updates, the Mac version is rarely updated more than once a month. So if the Definitions Date shows the current month and year, your software is likely to be current.

If the Definitions Date isn't current, click the LiveUpdate icon on the left side of the window and select Update Everything Now in the LiveUpdate window.

Launch Norton Antivirus and click the LiveUpdate icon.

Click Symantec Scheduler. If the window that opens contains no scheduled events, click New... and then Product Update.
Give your task a meaningful name like 'NAV Updates.'

Choose to update All Products.
Set the frequency to Monthly or Weekly and then select a day of the month or week on which updates should be run.

In "Set the time" select a time that your computer is typically turned on and then Save your settings.

The versions of Norton AntiVirus for Mac currently available through the NCSU AntiVirus site come with one year subscriptions. That means NAV can update its virus definitions for only one year. When the year's subscription is over, running a LiveUpdate will result in a subscription notice.

If you are running Mac OS 8/9, you can simply download and install a new copy of NAV over your existing copy. Remember to Update Everything Now after the installation to get the current virus definitions.

If you are running Mac OS X, do not try installing a new copy of NAV over your existing copy. Call the CED Help Desk (515-1760) and ask for the NAV Subscription Renewal Code. You can enter this code in the subscription notice window to extend the virus definitions subscription.

When AutoProtect is enabled, NAV scans files that are opened or copied and keep an eye open for 'virus-like activities.'

To manually scan a disk, folder or file:

Launch Norton AntiVirus.
Select either the Disk View or File View tab, as appropriate.
Highlight the disk, folder or file
Click the Scan/Repair button

Note: Norton AntiVirus' File View will display files and folders that you normally don't see (.vol, automount, dev, var, etc) because OS X hides them from the user. Do not attempt to use the Move To Trash button to delete these items; they are a normal part of OS X and necessary for its correct operation.

After upgrading to OS X 10.3.9, Mac you may find that Norton AntiVirus is no longer able to successfully automatically update its virus definitions.

Symantec has released a patch to NAV's LiveUpdate component to address this problem.

Launch Norton AntiVirus (It should be located in your Applications folder.)
Click the LiveUpdate button
Click the Customize this Update Session (LiveUpdate will contact Symantec to determine what updates are available.)
When the list of available updates appear, remove check marks from everything except LiveUpdate version 3.0.3.
Click the Update button.
Once the update is complete, click Quit. (Do not click 'OK'. The old version of LiveUpdate will remain resident in memory until you quit or reboot.)

Under OS X 10.4, Norton AntiVirus' AutoProtect and Scan On Mount functions do not work. Symantec is working on an update to address these problems. In the mean time, you can avoid getting the startup error instructing you to reinstall NAV by turning off AutoProtect from the Norton QuickMenu in the menu bar.